The Steps of Surrendering

Surrender connotes surrender to God, which few except the most saintly seem to manage. Itís much easier to do the surrendering on your own and let God show up if he wants to. Open yourself up to a Rembrandt or a Monet painting. Pay full attention to it. Open yourself up to what is in front of you rather than allowing yourself to be distracted. Donít judge in advance that you have to like the painting because youíve been told itís great. Donít force yourself to respond because it makes you look smart or sensitive.

Let the painting be the center of your focus, which is the essence of humility. Be receptive to any reaction you may have. If all these steps of surrender are present, then a great Rembrandt or Monet will evoke love because the artist is simply there in all his naked humanity.

In the presence of such humanity, surrender isnít difficult. People themselves are more difficult. Yet surrendering to someone else follows the same steps we just listed. Perhaps the next time you sit down to dinner with your family you might decide to concentrate on just one step of surrender, such as paying full attention or being non-judgmental.

Pick the step that seems easiest to approach or, better yet, the one that you know youíve been leaving out. Most of us have left out humility when we relate to our families. What does it mean to be humble with a child, for example? It means regarding the childís opinion as equal to your own.

At the level of awareness, it is equal; your advantage of years as the parent at the table doesnít discount that fact. We all had to be children, and what we thought back then had all the weight and importance of life at any age, perhaps more so.

The secret of surrender is that you do it inside, without trying to please anyone else.

Adapted from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2004).

We were born with a brain, which was meant to be used.
It was, either, put there by a supreme being or Mother Nature. (Do we all notice the gender difference?)
We needn't surrender to anything, but our _own_ higher power. Even, if you need to believe in a god for your own sense of security, that brain is there for you to USE.

God is not a narcissist. God does not need constant attention. God does not expect you surrender to her/him.

I have one question, to finish: If god was perceived as a female, does anyone honestly, believe that any male on this planet, would be surrendering?

lol, what a bunch of garbage. what works better? a pair of hands at work or infinite pairs clasped in prayer. a few questions to the believers; why all the different versions of bibles? you mean god didnt make it clear? why the different sects of christinsanity? baptist, evangelical, catholic, lutheran, methodist, puritan, quaker, anglican, protestant, pentecostal, born again, mormon, etc.
back to the bible thing. why doesnt god just speak to everyone, like some have experienced, and tell them all whats what and save some trees?